括 kuò to embrace
to embrace; to enclose; to include
怎么记住“括”: 扌 hand + 舌 tongue = to embrace. Grandma opens her hands wide, sticks out her tongue at the giggling twins, and pulls them close to embrace both.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
originally 手 + 𠯑
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
括 = 扌 hand + 舌 tongue
- 扌 hand meaning
- 舌 tongue shape only
Grandma opens her hands wide, sticks out her tongue at the giggling twins, and pulls them close to embrace both.
How it came to be
The hand gives the meaning; the right part looks like a tongue but was once a different sign that gave the sound.
用法
- Bound character that essentially never appears alone.
- 包括 bāokuò "to include, comprise" is by far its most common home, used constantly to list items: 包括我在内 "including me."
- 括号 kuòhào "parentheses" and 概括 gàikuò "to summarize" are the other two key compounds to know.